


A Matter of Perspective

by HuntingDandy (Vintage_lover_who)



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Aged-Up Victor Nikiforov, Aged-Up Yuri Plisetsky, Cute, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, New Year's Eve, Secret Santa, spolied Yuri Plisetsky, wholesome content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-07
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-10-05 21:22:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17332601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vintage_lover_who/pseuds/HuntingDandy
Summary: Three months after an accident that has kept him away from competitions, Yuri is getting impatient and his confidence seems to be as broken as his ankle. Victor, on the other hand, believes no one should feel miserable in New Year's Eve and is determined to change this.





	A Matter of Perspective

1…2…3…4-5

1…2…3…4-5

1…2…3…4--

Yuri’s foot gives out under his weight. He falls onto the ice for the umpteenth time that day and his anger is so great that he almost doesn’t feel the cold. The banister of the skating rink is right in front of him, yet he refuses to hold onto it to get off the ground, pulling his weight as best as he can with his trembling arms.

To top it all off, Victor comes in right when he’s awkwardly trying to regain his balance and Yuri curses under his breath. Victor’s expression is one of concern but is quick to hide it under a smile, yet the uncertainty of what to do with the thermos he’s holding is also noticeable. He opts for shaking it in front of him while approaching Yuri as nonchalantly as possible in such a situation.

‘You’ve always been so much better than me at stabilising yourself without any help, Kitten!’ says Victor with an even wider smile. ‘Still, some warm tea is never a bad idea. I brought your favourite’.

Yuri nods and tries his best to keep at least a friendly face. He truly hated to be seen like this, especially by Victor; it felt humiliating and ridiculous and even though he never admitted it aloud, he still felt the constant need to impress Victor with every new routine. Who knows? Perhaps if he didn’t, Victor could decide it all had been a waste of time after all and--

‘Something on your mind?’ asks Victor, tilting Yuri’s chin up until their eyes meet.

Yuri hadn’t realised he was holding the thermos in his hand without even opening it, his head too crowded with thoughts and feelings of embarrassment to pay attention to the here and now.

‘It’s okay, I just--’ he starts but he’s never been able to fool Victor.

‘Hey, Yuri, it’s been barely three months since your accident. It’s perfectly natural to not be at your best yet’.

Yuri swallows, shifting his gaze away from Victor. What was that thing Otabek was always saying? ‘One wrong quad could ruin an entire life’?

He knew the thought was exaggerated and yet he couldn’t stop dwelling on it. Had it really been nothing but 3 months? For Yuri it felt like 3 years, the same 3 years that he’d been closer to Victor. The last year, they had finally formalised their relationship and although Yuri was immensely glad about it, the admiration he felt for Victor complicated things sometimes.

‘I know, but I can’t stay in bed until I’m back “at my best”, can I?’ says Yuri, still trying not to be way too harsh.

Victor tilts his head in understanding. ‘You cannot, Kitten, but perhaps you could try to be a bit more careful? Maybe not try any quads yet?’

‘Then, when should I? I’m no longer 16, Victor. Three months are already plenty of wasted time’.

The laughter that follows Yuri’s comment would feel like an insult coming from anyone else but Victor. In him, it merely sounds amused.

‘Yuri, you are 19. Still a perfect age for skating. And with your discipline, you’ll be even better than before in no time! Besides’, says Victor, getting closer to Yuri and letting a hand slide around his waist, ‘it’s New Year’s Eve. No one should be working today’.

Yuri’s cheeks grow hot and he freezes for a few seconds, feeling as embarrassed as a couple of minutes before, only this time for a completely different reason. Victor’s hair grazes his forehead as he leans down, his lips brushing Yuri’s nose.

‘I have something for you’, he says in a lower tone, and the trembling Yuri feels in his legs is entirely unrelated to his accident. With difficulty, he manages to find his voice.

‘I’ll do one more lap and then I’ll be with you’.

Victor’s chest swells in triumph and he releases Yuri. ‘Just one more. I need you feeling good for tonight’, he adds before leaving his partner to his own devices.

Yuri stays in the middle of the ice, wondering what Victor meant with such enigmatic words, the humiliation from before almost entirely forgotten. He takes his iPod out of his hoodie and rewinds the song he was practicing to. He takes a deep breath and begins counting in his head as he slides over the ice. The throbbing pain in his right ankle is there again, reminding him of the reason why he’s doing this in the first place and his mood sours a bit. However, Victor’s warmth still clings to his body and Yuri feels a little lighter than before. He takes another deep breath.

1…2…3…4—

***************

The closet’s door rattles as it forcibly clashes against its frame, the mirror hanging beside it vibrating as well. Yuri throws yet another shirt on his already crowded bed and he curses Victor and his inconvenient ideas once more; he could at least be more specific when leaving notes that merely say ‘Went out to get your surprise ready. Dress up! Kisses’.

Yuri hold a Polo shirt in front of his body and looks into the mirror. He hates Polo shirts; he can’t remember for the love of him how he obtained this one but it’s as hideous as the rest, so he throws it on the floor and goes searching for something else. ‘Dress up’ could mean anything in the world, for God’s sake!

In his frantic search, Yuri manages to trip over one of his shoes and is forced to make a quick move with his right leg in order not to fall. Pain spreads from his ankle up to his thigh and suddenly, it’s as if he was back in Tyrol again.

He’s been adamant to admit it since it sounds ridiculously irrational, but he had the feeling that something would go wrong that day from the moment he set foot in the Austrian airport. The competition wasn’t even that important. He participated in it only because the son of an old friend of his mother was very enthusiastic about Yuri’s career and therefore invited him to come for an exhibition. Some of his friends would be there too and Yuri saw no harm in complying. Besides, he really wanted to take Victor on a stroll down the beautiful Austrian countryside, maybe even take him skiing.

However, and as soon as the plane landed, he felt a great amount of anxiety, even more than at big competitions. By the time he was about to hit the ice, he was convinced something wasn’t right but still did his best not to focus on such feelings.

Yuri gave his best as usual, but it was on his second-to-last jump that everything changed. It could have been a dent in the ice or -even worse- a weakness in his technique, he couldn’t really remember. All Yuri remembered was the immense discomfort that accompanied that jump and the even greater ache that engulfed him when landing.

He let out a strangled cry and the ice felt harder and colder than ever as he crashed against it. Yuri’s ears were ringing and everything he could focus on was the pain spreading through his body. He tried to get up, but his right leg couldn’t hold him up and he felt yet another painful pang. Next thing he knew, Victor was beside him, his mouth forming words Yuri couldn’t hear over the ringing in his ears. Concerned faces gathered around him and he barely noticed when he was being rushed in a gurney through the corridors of the skating palace. Victor’s hand never left his.

Tears pool in Yuri’s eyes as he remains curled up and holding onto his ankle, the mess around him suddenly unimportant. He remembers that at first, it was very hard to see Victor at the hospital; his face held nothing but love and concern, yet Yuri felt like the greatest failure and couldn’t look him in the eye. The first few times, he preferred pretending to be asleep instead of facing Victor’s troubled expression and tense shoulders.

And the fear, that gut-wrenching fear of not being able to skate again. Yuri loved few things in life and skating was at the top of that list; it was the one thing that gave him confidence and that he felt he was meant for. Whatever would he do without it?

Slowly, Yuri slides his left leg underneath his body, using the bed to assist himself on his way off the floor. Fighting the feelings of uselessness and shame is hard but he manages to swallow the knot forming in his throat. He moves towards the bedhead in a calm manner this time and grabs the burgundy shirt that lies on top of it, deciding that whatever it is that Victor has planned, it’s best to be overdressed than to look inappropriate. 

Yuri brushes his hair one last time before leaving the house when he receives Victor’s text, informing him that a car is waiting downstairs. He’s careful enough not to stare into any mirrors for more than a couple of seconds on his way out.

***************

The streets are bustling with life and it’s as if every light in town is on. Yuri can’t remember a New Year’s Eve as illuminated as that one, but he truly doesn’t mind. The lights reflect warmly on the small snowflakes that have just started falling by the time he arrives to the place where Victor is waiting for him.

The restaurant they’re supposed to dine in is at the top of a hotel in the centre of the city and to Yuri’s surprise, it’s one of the most exclusive in town. The lift is entirely covered in velvet and there’s a man inside of it, asking Yuri which floor he’s going to.

When the lift’s doors open, Yuri is faced with a huge round salon. The chairs are covered with the same velvet as the lift and the floor’s marble seems to be authentic. The restaurant is constructed around the main tower of the building, providing the customers with a 360° view of the city through its huge windows; the sensation is almost vertiginous. Even when Yuri has been renowned for years already, he doesn’t remember ever going to a place as fancy as this one.

Soon enough, Victor approaches him with another one of his characteristic smiles. He kisses Yuri on the lips as a greeting and holds his waist once again. The effect it has on Yuri is as intense as it was at the ice rink.

‘You made it just in time, my dear’, says Victor, guiding his partner to a table that is slightly apart from the others. ‘Right now, we can see the cathedral but later we will be able to look at the Parliament. Isn’t it marvellous?’

‘Later?’ asks Yuri and he must seem so confused that Victor can’t help but laugh a bit.

‘We’re at a rotating restaurant, you haven’t noticed?’

Once again, Yuri concentrates on the feeling of vacuum in his stomach and perceives the very slow turning of the place. So, the strange dizzying sensation wasn’t just his nervousness…

Victor’s smile falters. ‘Does it make you uncomfortable?’ he asks and Yuri panics internally. He doesn’t like it when Victor looks so uncertain.

‘No, it’s perfectly fine, I—hadn’t noticed the movement, that’s all’, he adds, reassuring. ‘This place is huge'.

After that, Victor lightens. They chat for a bit before the waiter hands them a pair of menus and only then does Yuri’s uneasiness return. The prices of the meals are ridiculously high; Yuri even thinks he had a pair of skates that costed as much as one of the main dishes when he was a child. He’s about to comment on it when Victor starts cheerfully ordering some entries and even a full bottle from the wine menu that Yuri hasn’t checked but that is most likely as expensive as the dishes.

Once the waiter is gone, Yuri leans over, desperately grabbing Victor’s arm.

‘Victor, are you sure we should be here? Have you actually seen the prices?’

His partner seems entirely amused. ‘Of course I have. Relax, Kitten; it’s New Year’s Eve’.

‘You can’t justify everything you do by saying that!’ exclaims Yuri through clenched teeth.

The waiter comes back to take their full order before Victor can argue back. Yuri decides on one of the less expensive dishes whereas Victor asks for a three-course menu and even orders something else for Yuri. He can feel the heat rising up his cheeks, but he can’t exactly make a scene in the middle of the restaurant with all those snobs around them.

As it turns out, the food is actually good, although Yuri has to make great efforts not to just give everything back; he feels bad making Victor spend that much money on him, even when the dishes are that good and the view that enthralling.

Soon enough, the white dome of the parliament is visible amongst the illuminated streets and Yuri cannot help but stare. The city is truly beautiful at this time of night and the restaurant provides a privileged sight of it. A sigh escapes Yuri’s lips.

Victor, who hasn’t taken his eyes off him, dares to break the silence.

‘Do you know why I brought you here?’

Yuri snaps back to reality, a tad embarrassed of being so out of it.

‘Because I would never be able to afford it myself?’

Victor laughs. ‘No, you silly! Because I wanted to give you a different perspective’.

Yuri frowns in confusion and his partner is prompted to continue.

‘Do you see that flag above the parliament?’ he says, pointing at the top of the dome where a mildly stained flag dances in the chilling wind. ‘It looks really small from up here, doesn’t it?’

Yuri admits it does.

‘At this time and with all this light, the stains on it are almost imperceptible too’, Victor observes, and Yuri must squint to notice them. ‘What I’m trying to say is that, once you change your perspective, some things seem much smaller than they would at any other time, especially when you’re not feeling great. And small “flaws” are also harder to notice when there’s this much light’.

Yuri turns his head slowly to Victor and there it is, that look that holds so much love and faith in it that it used to make Yuri uncomfortable at the beginning, when he felt so unworthy of it. He still does, but now at least he can understand that such a feeling comes from his own insecurities rather than from reality.

Victor takes Yuri’s hand in his and the memories flood back to him once more. The endless days at the hospital; the pain during therapies; the tears at night and the hopelessness that produced them. Those same tears are threatening with spilling from Yuri’s eyes right then and there and he isn’t sure if he will be able to stop them.

‘Come’, says Victor, taking his glass of wine with him and encouraging Yuri to do the same with his, their hands never letting go.

He guides Yuri to stand in front of the picture window. A crowd has already gathered in the streets because midnight is close and they all want to see the fireworks, but Yuri is still too busy holding the tears back to care, compulsively sipping on his wine. Gently, Victor draws him closer.

‘You know, I’ve wanted to bring you here for a long time’, he starts as he turns his body toward Yuri. ‘To be honest I was planning on doing it until I proposed but then I decided today was appropriate enough’.

Yuri’s eyes widen. ‘Until you what?!’

‘Oh, don’t look at me like that. You know I’m a hopeless romantic, Kitten’, says Victor, the smile never leaving his face. ‘But don’t worry, I won’t try that today’.

Yuri can feel his heart racing. It takes him a while to process that what he’s feeling is indeed a bit of disappointment.

‘So, no New Year’s proposal’, he states in a mildly interrogative tone.

‘I’m afraid not’, Victor sighs, taking a quick glance at his watch.

Yuri remains quiet for a bit.

‘What about a New Year’s kiss?’

Victor’s smile widens. ‘Without a doubt’, he says as the countdown starts both at the restaurant and in the streets.

Their lips touch a couple of seconds before midnight. Even though Yuri’s senses and mind are fully occupied with the kiss, he reflects on the fact that he’d never had a New Year’s kiss before; hell, he hadn’t even properly kissed anyone but Victor apart from a hideous spin-the-bottle game gone wrong. However, he’s glad he’s experiencing this many ‘first times’ with Victor.

Yuri’s hands clench around Victor’s jacket’s lapels as he lets his bottom lip graze against that of his partner. His hands are cold against Victor’s warm chest, but the rest of his body has already warmed up and Yuri feels as if the ground underneath him had suddenly become even more unstable.

The people around them are already congratulating and hugging one another, yet Yuri doesn’t notice them. He can only concentrate on Victor’s body and on how his heart is picking up speed with every second their kiss stretches. It’s not long before Yuri is breathing hard against Victor’s lips. A shiver travels down his back and Victor holds him more firmly, heightening the electric effect and Yuri feels closer to that particular point of no return he so easily reaches with Victor. He has to take a deep breath before he’s able of uttering a single word.

‘You won’t happen to have rented a room here as well, have you?’

The low rumble of Victor’s laughter echoes in his chest.

‘Oh, Kitten. You know me so well’.


End file.
